Stormy Greetings

Saturday 8 February’14 Good day to all , family and friends, I can hear the fire crackling in the living room and I long to sit there but my computer is still working on standby mode! It is pouring outside-we postponed going to the shop till we realize that it is not going to improve. Drenched is not the word, my rain jacket seemed to have lost its ability to let the water run down and not in!!! I cannot really run but dodging the cars between red lights and those who do not stop for them I had to make a run to get safely to the pharmacy side, I really took a bit of a jog there-the knee is playing along! The temperature is 4° but with the icy rain and the stormy winds it feels more like -10 out there. It took 10 ½ days for Eircom to come and fix the broken telephone line! There stands a tree fairly near to the pole and with the strong winds the stark bare branches of the tree literally broke the line off where it comes out of the box on the pole. Barry suffered most –he is attached to the computer and found it very annoying that he could not follow his antique auctions and SA News. My iPad was not working as there were no internet modem or WiFi , I sometimes received emails over the phone but that was also very sporadic and many emails I send from my phone never reached its destinations but thankfully we are on air again and can continue with life as before. There were 253 emails awaiting my attention. What I thought I could delete I did –losing out on my usual medical news and left family letters and photos to be perused! I have not got through them all but as the day goes on I hope to do just that. The stormy Atlantic weather system that has been battering the island has been very sad and heartbroken. The sea just went out of control with waves 3 stories high and promenades, houses, roads, buildings just gone-a relief fund has been made available as many of the business people do not have insurance anymore especially after the last disaster, not so long ago! We are very fortunate that we do not live near a river or stream and on a slight incline therefore all excess water runs past the house to the bottom of the field where it meets up with the stream from the spring! The garden is going green and when the weather allows it I do my 4-5 km walk outside, I know every plant and bud, wonderful to see how nature awakens, The Jasmine will open early next week and so will some of the daffodils. A creeping rose that Barry pulled out because it would not grow I broke a piece off and stuck it into the ground and it is so happy it has nearly covered the entire wall even with the winter cold –it never stopped growing! It has been too wet and cold to start digging the vegetable garden and in spite of all our good intentions it will have to wait a bit longer. The crocuses are flowering and it brings great colour after the bleak winter. On the political front disaster is always on the horizon- they attacked on RTE the other minded people and now deformation monies have to be paid out to the homophobias. The biggest court case in the history of the country has started with the bankers and associates who brought the country to its knees in 2008! The problem is that they lied so much and then they cannot remember the story and it changes as times marches on! There is a new craze that apparently started on Face Book where youngster challenge each other to drink as much as they can of alcoholic drinks and then to attempt the dare set for them and so 2 young men who par-took in this, died in the last 2 weeks- unbelievable ! If it is not bullying young girls into suicide then they dare each other to death! The days are much longer and of course the night much shorter which is a great bonus! When the sun shines you count the hours and the days in the week! You who live in the sunshine and beg for some other weather ,count your blessings as we experience the effect of this sunless weather in the moods and mental attitudes of people, there is definitely a very dark side to this weather where sun is in short supply. Birthdays: TODAY!!!! Kathleen in England and Belinda in SA Happy birthday to you and may you have a wonderful day! Nine had her birthday during last weekend and officially turned a mighty 80 on the 5th! Happy Birthday to you and may you experience many more! Philip Josling has his birthday on the 12th and Brenda Dunne in England on the 13th happy Birthday to you all! Tomorrow is the best day of my week and as I played last week I will be privileged to sit in the pew and do some singing! We have just completed a brilliant series of sermons on Galatians! Ps 23 is now ahead! We do think of those who are not well, those who have had traumatic experiences in the last few months, those who are in recovery , those who are preparing for a new academic year, and those who are studying already for final exams. There are also those who are preparing themselves for a wedding on the 1st in Standerton- may all go well Jeanne! The parents are also in preparation mode! The joy of being parents! Congratulations to Leopoldt with the eldership he entered into! The opening of the Winter Olympic in Sochi was very impressive- we also saw a documentary of the hardship and all the problems that this whole project brought to those who worked on it! Many were not paid for months on end! Thank you for all the photos, the letters and lovely emails- be assured that it is much appreciated and enjoyed! May you all be diligent in safety at home and where-ever you find yourselves. Drive safely and be careful! Wet ,windy and stormy greetings from us in Cranelymore! Barry & Christina